A/N: I blame downbythebay_4 at livejournal for inspiring this with her Daffodils story. It was a small scene and inspired this. Seriously?
Sophie frantically packed her bags as she fought against the tears. She felt the now too familiar feeling of nausea clawing its way up from her stomach but she kept it at bay. She had to get out. Now was not the time to show weakness. She only had a few moments left before the world she once loved would be destroyed forever. She needed to leave.
"What are you doing?"
The voice behind was not the one she was expecting. First off it was feminine and the person she had been expecting was male. The fact that it was Parker was both confusing and comforting. At least she wouldn't have to see the look of disappointment on the others' faces.
"I'm leaving," Sophie answered with a few more of her clothes going into the bag as an exclamation point.
"Why?" Parker questioned from the window with too much interest. There was too much understanding and pain in that look for the grifter to take.
"Because it's time to move on," Sophie shrugged in response. Avoiding eye contact was key. She wouldn't be able to do it if she saw that hurt in the thief's eyes again.
"Is it because of the baby?" Parker asked in a low warble of a voice.
Sophie paused in surprise of that turn of events. How did the thief even know? She hadn't told anybody. She had only found out she was pregnant this morning when she took a visit to the doctor's office. How could Parker, who can't notice anything when it comes to human society, know that?
"Everybody knows," Parker shrugged in answer as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Apparently Sophie had actually showed some of her emotions while shewas thinking, oops.
"What do you mean everybody knows?" Sophie asked despite herself and yep there was the eye contact she had been trying to avoid. How could anybody know? She hadn't even known.
"Eliot told me," Parker explained herself with a guilty expression actually appearing on her face. "He said he recognized the signs. I didn't know what he meant so I asked Hardison and he just stared at me so I asked him what was wrong. He said that we needed to talk to Eliot so we did. Eliot then asked us if we noticed any changes with you and we pointed out that your face has gotten puffier, your hips have gotten wider, and there's this really strange glow about you. Eliot told us that meant you were pregnant."
"How long have you known?" Sophie decided to admit defeat when she saw it. The quicker she could get her information, the quicker she could leave. It was best for everybody that way.
"Since last week," Parker stared at her toes in shame. She apparently knew what was coming next and didn't like it. "I'm telling Nate."
"No," Sophie shook her head in fear of what that would do to this whole situation that had already gotten too far out of control. "No, Parker, you can't. He can't know. It would destroy him!"
"Then why are you doing it?" Parker demanded with a tear falling down her cheek in anguish.
"You wouldn't understand," Sophie sighed as she went straight back to packing. The best she could hope for now would be a good head start. The boys were most definitely on their way now.
"Make me!" Parker ordered as she grabbed the grifter's packing arm with ferocious intensity. "Why are you leaving us again? You promised you wouldn't."
"I can't do this, Parker," Sophie admitted softly as she tried herhardest not to collapse at the weight of this single mistake. "I won't let him go through this again."
"What do you mean?" Parker begged in complete confusion, "Nate would love another kid. He said so."
And there was pleasant news. "He knows?" Sophie stared at the thief in shock. This day just kept getting better and better.
"Of course he knows," Parker stared at her as if she were the one inept of human emotion. "I said everyone knows, silly."
"I just…" Sophie cringed at this lovely turn of events. She zipped up her suitcase and walkedtowards the door. The best she could hope for would be to run for the hills as fast as her feet could carry her before Nathan Ford was on her scent. "I can't."
"I'm telling Nate," Parker promised with a determined frown before she popped out of the window. It was the only time she would give the grifter.
Sophie rushed down the stairs not even caring about the rest of her things. She had to get out now while she still had the chance.
"Here let me help you with that," Hardison growled before she could even make it to the bottom of the stairs. Of course they would set up obsticles for her.
"I'm fine, Hardison," Sophie remarked with a big show of wheeling her suitcase behind her.
"Are you sure?" Hardison questioned taking her suitcase without her permission anyways. "It feels pretty heavy. Are you moving it to the closet?"
"No," Sophie huffed towards him as she grabbed for her suitcase in anger. "I'm leaving."
"Oh," Hardison nodded as he started pulling the suitcase towards the closet despite her statement.
"Hardison!" Sophie grumbled as she chased after her suitcase in disdain. She really didn't have time for this.
"Oh, right," Hardison nodded along as he casually passed her and took the suitcase back to the stairs. "You said you were leaving. I'll go put this upstairs for you."
"Hardison!" This time the voice was not her own.
Sophie paused in guilt because she would recognize that growl anywhere. Eliot stood in the doorway with his face held in a firm neutral. He refused to look at the grifter though. He just looked straight at the hacker accusingly. "Let her go."
"But…" Hardison began to argue with the same look Parker wore when she realized what was going on. He looked like a kicked puppy.
"Let her go," Eliot repeated with a firm nod.
The hacker nodded in agreement and handed the rolling suitcase back to the grifter. He sulked all the way to his computer and didn't even acknowledge the people in the room. He started violently clicking and clacking on his computer in a desperate attempt to drown out all noise.
Sophie took her suitcase and started for the door. She pulled up short at the glare being sent her way. Eliot remained in the door with his arms thoroughly crossed over his chest. He looked like he was ready to do battle. Another bad sign.
"Eliot…" Sophie began in hopes of breaking through.
"Save it," Eliot ordered with a thick breath of frustration. He slowly stepped out of the way with disappointment on his face.
Sophie bowed her head in defeat because she knew that look. That was the look he wore when she betrayed the team during that whole Davids fiasco. There was no going back now.
The grifter took a calming breath and stepped into the hallway without even bothering to look back. If she looked back she would stay. She had to leave. It was the only way. She swiftly made her way to the elevator and smiled as it dinged without hitting other floors first. She quickly entered the lift and pressed the button for the bottom floor. She was almost there.
"Wait!" Another painfully familiar voice called out at the top of his lungs.
Sophie panicked at the sound of that voice. She hit the door close button as hard as she could. She jabbed at the thing in hopes of getting the doors to close faster. She needed those doors to close faster. She couldn't go through with her plan if he got in there with her. She couldn't leave once he was there. She couldn't leave once she saw Nate knew.
The familiar arm had only just barely stopped the doors in the nick of time. Sophie cursed at his wonderful luck and tried to press the button again when he took his arm away to get through. She wasn't so lucky. Nate cheated and used his arm to pull himself the rest of the way in. He stared her directly in the eye and refused to back down. He was in and the doors closed. The elevator began to move down and suddenly stopped right when they were in between floors.
"You're leaving," it wasn't a question pouring from Nate's lips and it hurt to hear him say it in such an official tone.
"I'm leaving," Sophie confirmed with a glare directed at the floor count and the camera she knew was behind it. Hardison was responsible for this.
"You're running," Nate corrected as he took a step forward and was suddenly too close.
"No, I'm leaving," Sophie huffed towards him childishly. If he was going to address her in such a manner, than she was going to be as stubborn as possible. She could already feel her will breaking.
"No, you're running," Nate argued back glaring her in the eyes and invading her personal space all at the same time. His eyes were filled with cold fury.
"What do you care?" Sophie fired back because she could never really back down from a fight with Nathan Ford. If she broke his heart she would be able to leave.
Nate just stared at her with hurt. His fury was wiped away instantly at her words and hurt stood there in its place. He looked tired too and fragile, more fragile than she had ever been allowed to see him in the past. He backed up a bit and she immediately missed his warmth. He slowly fell up against the wall on the other side of the elevator and stared at his shoes.
"Did you honestly think I didn't know?" Nate finally asked in a voice so broken it burned her whole insides to hear it.
"Know what?' Sophie demanded back bitterly. She didn't want to have this discussion. She was leaving specifically to avoid this discussion. She couldn't handle this discussion.
"About the baby," Nate informed her without coming to bat at her intended jab. It was worse than actually fighting him head on. He was going to make her dook this out.
"Soon there isn't going to be a baby," Sophie felt the words slam out of her mouth before she could stop them. It hurt to hear those words fall from her lips. It was worse seeing the way he flinched at the hidden meaning behind them. The grifter tried her hardest not to let that stop her though. Her decision had been made up. There was no going back.
"Ah," Nate chuckled out darkly at the little slur of words. "So that's your plan."
"You didn't honestly expect me to…" Sophie wanted to finish her sharp retort by breaking him in half and beyond. She wanted to destroy him with his words so he would let her go. She wanted to howl hateful things at him just so she could be set free. She couldn't form the words though. Sophie Devereaux's weakness had always been kicking Nate Ford when he was finally down.
"To keep it?" Nate finished for her with a dangerous smile. "Honestly, Soph…" He pushed himself off of his designated wall and back into her personal space again. "I didn't expect you to lie."
"I'm not lying!" Sophie retorted back on autopilot. The lie sounded wrong even to her ears though. He had her made and she wasn't even ready for it. It wasn't fair.
"You're many things, Sophie Devereaux," Nate frowned at her rebuttle in disappointment. "But you're not a killer."
"Who's lying now?" Sophie sassed back at the invitation to steady ground. She was about to get low and dirty. This fight needed to be vicious otherwise her entire plan would shatter into a billion pieces. Hell, this plan had already shattered into a billion pieces. He found her. He always would.
"Come on, Sophie," Nate demanded in complete frustration of her game. She was frustrated too but she had to play if she wanted to get what she wanted. She had to save him even if it meant destroying him to do it.
"Nate…" Sophie croaked out in surprise by her own voice calling out to him. It sounded so raw and vulnerable, and it seemed to have a mind of its own. She had no intention of talking and suddenly she was. This wasn't good. He was winning.
"Don't," Nate shot out before she could even hope to fix the situation. He already knew her plan. He was more than acutely aware of any possible tricks. He finally had her cornered and neither one of them knew what to do. His eyes were way too bright though. His eyes showed just how much he knew what her tiny voice had just given him. He had her in check. "Please, don't."
"Nate, I… I can't!" Sophie felt the tears finally prickle her eyes and fall without her consent. Her body had finally refused to respond to her demands anymore. She was crying and there would be no controlling it. "Please! I can't!"
"You owe me," Nate spat towards her with both hands suddenly on her arms with the intention of shaking her senseless. He was right. She did. For far more than he would ever truly know.
"Please…" Sophie gasped through the painful sobs that had too much in them. It was just too real. She had spent so long faking everything that the truth was draining her completely. It hurt to be so honest after so many years of being false. "I can't… I… I can't!"
"Why?" This time Nate did shake her. He was comfortable enough with a pregnant woman to know it would do nothing. He wasn't shaking her very hard. He never could. "Why can't you have my baby?"
"I can't carry a baby!" Sophie spewed out so quickly it wasn't until her ears registered her own voice that she even realized she said them. The shock on his face and the shock vibrating throughout her own body at the horrible secret took her too far back. Her body finally broke down and she was on the floor sobbing. The wall and Nate's arms were the only things keeping her sitting. She couldn't do this anymore. The sobs were too much and she just wanted to make this go away. She wished for this to go away.
"Wha…" Nate swallowed and stared at her in disbelief. He looked like he was about to topple over with her the way his eyes filled with petrefied fear. "What do you mean?"
"Oh God!" Sophie didn't want to do this. She didn't want to explain. This was why she was leaving. This was why she couldn't do this. She had to explain her past. Nate deserved the truth even if she didn't want to give it. That idea seemed to give her the strength she needed. "William and I tried to have a baby, Nate."
"What happened?" Nate sat down beside and refused to pull his hands away. He was still well aware of his surroundings enough to realize she needed him. That was new.
"I had three miscarrages," Sophie stuttered out in between terrified sobs. She couldn't stop it. Her body was now in protest of the fact she had kept it tamed for so long. "Only one of them made it to almost full term."
"How long?" Nate demanded with pain at this twist of events. He looked like he couldn't decide between pulling her close and running away in fear. It was frightening. "How far along, Sophie?"
"Eight months," Sophie howled in answer. She just couldn't seem to stop answering. "I didn't even tell William about the last one. He wasn't even aware I was pregnant. I left when I found out the baby died. I didn't think he deserved to deal with that anymore!"
"That's why he was a drunk," Nate groaned at the familiar routine and the grifter's fear when they had only just began forming their bonds. "You pour idiot, falling for the drunkards of the world when you deserve so much better."
"I didn't even get to hold my dead son," Sophie choked out in a wretched wreck that she couldn't seem to pull out of.
"Oh God," Nate cringed at that accidental truth. He seemed to have made a decision though because the next thing the grifter knew his arms were wrapped tightly around her and pulling her in close.
"That's why, Nate," Sophie shook in his arms. Her sobs were causing tremors to pour throughout her body. It was probably the worst thing in the world for the baby. It didn't really matter. The poor thing was doomed anyway. "I can't carry your baby. It won't make it."
"Our baby?" Nate rubbed soothing circles in the grifter's back and kept tilting from side to side in hopes of calming her down. "If that kid has evenhalf the strength you do, it's going to be fine."
"You can't handle it, Nate," Sophie whimpered into his ear. It seemed to be her last line of defense and she had already agreed to fight low and dirty. "You can't lose another child. I won't let you."
"So you'd rather have me hate you for killing our child instead of losing it?" Nate pushed her away to stare her down in pain. "Don't you dare make me do that! Don't make me hate you for something you could never do!"
"I could kill it," Sophie argued profusely because his anger was exactly what she needed to finish her plan. He didn't take the King when he should have. "I could do it!"
"You couldn't even kill me when we were mortal enemies!" Nate shouted back at her in horror of how far gone she was. She couldn't quite figure out if she was worth bringing back yet. "How do you expect me to believe you could kill something so pure?"
"I shot you," Sophie pointed out in misery. He just took away her only opening. The bastard knew he was winning.
"You're not leaving," Nate stammered out with a firm shake of his head. "I won't let you."
"Please let me go," Sophie begged with hope. The tears were gone and she knew she barely even had the strength to keep talking. She didn't know what she would do if she was actually free.
"I tried that already," Nate smiled charmingly towards her. She hated when he did that. "You came back."
"You needed me," Sophie responded with a smile of her own before her eyes grew wide in shock. "I won't let you do this!"
"You're not leaving," Nate promised with a solemn nod to prove his point. "I won't let you do this! I won't let you run!"
"Running's the only way," Sophie spouted off with desperate pleas now her only form of getting out even though they both knew it was already too late. "I can't save you from this! You won't survive this kind of loss! Not this time!"
"I can't lose you," Nate sputtered out in a voice almost as raw as her own. Checkmate.
Sophie broke down again. She curled into a little ball in his arms and refused to budge. She couldn't leave, not now. He was giving her everything on a silver platter and she was too selfish to not take it. She tried to be the hero, the white knight like he always wanted her to be. She failed. She couldn't be the hero. She would always be the villain. It was just the way she had to be.
"Hardison," Nate rose to his feet without even dropping her. He kept her in his arms and stared directly into the camera. "We're coming home."
Sophie felt the tears stop at that realization. She had a home. She couldn't even remember the last time she had one of those. It was remarkable to know. So, she smiled at him with tears still blinking from her eyes. He just succeeded in stealing the world for her.
Nate smiled back in a more genuine happiness than he had ever held before. He kept a good grip on her and stole her suitcase. He held it firmly without even attempting to set her down. He wasn't going to let her go. Apparently that was more than just a verbal contract. It was a literal one too.
The elevater began to rise back to their floor. The doors pinged open and the mastermind stepped right on through. People were staring at them as they casually raced through the hall towards their apartment, but it didn't matter. Let them stare. Nate opened the door by dropping the suitcase and moving his hand just enough to give him room to pull the thing. The door swung wide and the mastermind went in with the grifter in his arms and the suitcase dragging behind. He ignored the grins of the three youngest members of their team and marched up the stairs. He didn't stop until their room was around them. He gently placed the grifter on the bed and closed their bedroom door.
Sophie stared at him in disbelief as the sheets slowly made their way on top of her. She watched as he removed his shoes and stripped down to his boxers. She only then realized her shoes were gone as well. She distantly thought she remembered him taking them off when he set her down. He must have dropped her suitcase at some point too because it was nowhere to be found. His arms encircled her before she could even hope of finishing her thoughts. She felt the smile tug her lips wider and reveled in his warmth. It was the kiss he planted on the back of her head that finally forced her to turn around.
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Sophie was proud to note the normalcy back in her voice. She could deal with the fact that she was tired as well. Nate was with her. That was all she could ever want.
"I've got a plan," Nate smiled back at her comment with pride. His smile was definitely a million watt smile. She had never thought she would ever see him wear one.
The happy feeling in the pit of her stomach that filled her at that moment seemed to refuse to go away. It just kept getting bigger as the years continued on. It wasn't until the words that tumbled out of her four year old daughter's mouth that she fully understood why.
"Mummy," the little darling with blue eyes stared at her mother in fascination. "When did you know you and Daddy were going to be together forever?"
Sophie smiled at her daughter's question fondly. A soft chuckle from the kitchen confirmed her suspicions that Daddy was listening in. The grifter turned to glare at the chuckling mastermind before she felt the smile return to her lips. Nate returned the smile and even added a twitch to his eyebrows in a gloat of his win. His wife rolled her eyes and turned back towards the questioner.
"When he refused to let me runaway," was her reply.
A/N II: Somebody please give me a happy story prompt. I'm so sick of writing angst. I need something to cheer me up. Deleveraged is making me way too sad right now. Prompt me something and I'll reward you accordingly. A.K.A. the story will be posted no later than tomorrow.